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bsdWhen would we use the expression don't forget and when would we say remember?In the context of this thread it might help if this time we did the opposite of what we usualy do and post what we would like to drink before the weekend(as opposed to after)being that after the weekend on the Jewish calendar is a really big wine day.May its happiness spill over into our lives.Have a good one; h

Shavua tov and Purim Sameach to the vast majority of you who don't live in Jerusalem where we will celebrate Sunday night and Monday!

Friday night:

Tulip, Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon 2010: This was the 2nd time I had this wine, the first was at the kosher wine fair last month. That first time I wasn't at all impressed by the wine. It had a nice nose, a nice first attack and then a big hole on the mid-palate leaving a blank before rising again on the finish. Unacceptable, especially at this price point. This time I was glad that it was different and didn't have such a hole yet this is not, IMHO, a memorable wine.Dark, clean garnet, on the nose classic notes of cassis, plums and cherries with a hint of toasted oak. Medium to full-bodied with much of the same on the palate including some notes of Mediterranean herbs and milk chocolate with gripping tannins on the long finish. Reminiscent of some older, good vintages of Gamla CabSav. Again not good enough at this price point. 14.5% Abv.

Shabbat lunch:

After having enjoyed for the 2nd time ever a glass of Johnny Walker Double Black (very nice and slightly smoky/peated), 2 very nice wines:

Tishbi, Viognier Blanc 2011: I have already reviewed this wine here when I tasted it the first time at the Raanana wine festival last June and it is indeed a very pleasant, slightly off-dry and unoaked blend of 50% Viognier and 50% White Riesling. It is also quite inexpensive as well, much recommended. 12% Abv.

This was Shabbat Zachor so a wine to remember was certainly mandatory. The following Merlot from Dalton definitely was such a wine.

Dalton, Reserve, Merlot 2010: Having heard wonders about this wine, it quickly found its way on my to-taste list. The rumors didn't lie. A blend of 94% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon grown at Kerem Ben Zimra and aged 18 months in french oak barrels. Dark, almost impenetrable cherry red with some royal purple at the rim, a beautiful nose of blackberries, raspberry jam and fresh cigars. Full-bodied and almost muscular à la Ella Valley Merlot this is a wine that should please even the most stubborn CabSav freaks. On first attack coming in layers a mouthful of ripe crushed berries, plums and spices followed on the mid-palate by notes of toffee, good acid, sweet pipe tobacco and raspberries with notes of vanilla and backers chocolate along near-sweet tannins almost coating the mouth on the long, plush and elegant finish. Great Merlot! A true delight! 15.5% Abv. (I really couldn't tell).

Only G-d knows how many liquors and spirits followed after the meal...

Friday night - Gvaot Vineyards Dance 2008. I've yet to taste anything from Gvaot that I didn't like, but this bottle made us think that this wine is a bit past its prime. (I hope it's just this bottle, since I have more.)

Shabbat lunch - Ella Valley Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2008. Excellent

And, Balcones Number One - a unique single malt whisky from a distillery in Waco, Texas of all places.

Four Gates 2011 Santa Clara Valley Zinfandel: This is a terrific example of highly extracted jammy zin with enough acidity and structure to make that style work. It is also quite in contrast to the Landsman Zin which is much more restrained in style. Personally, I think Benyamin hit it out of the park with this one.

Since we were naming my new daughter Saturday morning, we had my in-laws over for Shabbos, so I opened a 2012 Yarden Gewurtztraminer and a 2009 Galil Mountain Yiron. We also had some Pappy Van Winkle 23 year old bourbon and some Old Malt Cask 1977 Glen Grant 26 year old.

The 2010 had some sort of secondary fermentation in the bottle, and it never completely dissipated, so it was a bit off and difficult to drink. The bottle of Cuvee D was slightly better than my disappointing other bottle but still not something that I enjoyed. Had a few leaking bottles amongst my Pinots.

The 2010 had some sort of secondary fermentation in the bottle, and it never completely dissipated, so it was a bit off and difficult to drink. The bottle of Cuvee D was slightly better than my disappointing other bottle but still not something that I enjoyed. Had a few leaking bottles amongst my Pinots.

On Friday morning I went to the local wine route for a GHW tasting:Yarden Blanc de Blancs 2007 - an excellent sparkler with real elegance.Yarden Odem vinyard Chardonnay 2011 - nice mix of tropical fruit and creamy flavors. The wood is kept in the background as with other recent vintages of this wine. Not for the unoaked Chard fanatics, but a Chard with some weight that is still far from an oak bomb.Gamla Shmura Cabernet 2010 - better than the standard Gamla Cab, but still much lighter bodied than the Yarden. This is a good choice if you want an approachable Cabernet that is good to drink young. (A lot of people probably do want this, but I'll go with the Yarden.)Yarden Tel Phares vinyard Syrah 2008 - concentrated fruity Syrah without the overly ripe notes common in 'big' Israeli Syrah. A lot of plum and berry fruits which probably need a bit of time to settle down.Yarden El Rom vinyard Cabernet 2009 - big and concentrated Cabernet with cassis and blackberry fruit, a lot of struture and a long finish. Top notch Cabernet, though not as powerful as the 2003 and 2008 El Rom Cabs.

Friday night we had Yarden 2005 Cabernet - now showing a lot of spice alongside the fruit, tannin, herbs, etc.. Ageing very nicely and probably nearing its peak.

Starday lunch we had the Gamla Brut - a nice wine, but not in the same league as the 2007 Blanc de Blancs.

Also had some nice whisky on Shabbat - Coal Ila 12 yr, Talisker and Johnny Walker Green Label. The Caol Ila and Talisker are both excellent flavorful single malts with lots of smoke (the Jonny Wlaker didn't stand a chance).

So this Friday night I had about 15 friends come over and organized a wine tasting with 20 bottles of wine. Well, I originally planned to have 4 flights of wine with 4 bottles in each flight, but at the end of the tasting I threw in a fifth flight. Personally, I am not a big fan of wine tastings, since I don't think that one gets a good sense of the wines in that setting, but I did this with several goals in mind. First of all, I was interested in the social aspect. Secondly, I wanted to introduce some of my friends to wines they typically don't try. Thirdly, I had a special interest in getting input from others, especially for the flight of sparkling wines. After describing the flights and the tasting notes, I'll share some of my observations.

The wines were tasted blind, and to most participants they were double blind, meaning that they didn't even know what wines were being served, other than being told the theme of the flight.

The order listed is the order in which they were ranked by most participants including myself. These sparklers fell into two buckets with quite a gulf between them, with the Drappier and Hagafen in one and the Yarden and the Adar in the other. The first pair were on the elegant side, whereas the latter pair were on the coarse side.

This was an eye opener for many of the participants, some of which vehemently declared themselves as strictly drinkers of red wine, so much so that some refused to participate. Again, I'm listing them in the order in which they were ranked, though this time the ranking wasn't firm, as many of these varietals were new to the people tasting them, and they were discovering them for the first time. I will add that the Viognier turned out to be a dud, poorly reflecting the variety. The Ruhlmann on the other hand, was a good choice to represent Gewurztraminer, not because it was that good, but because it is varietally correct, in that it showcases the grape's potential as well as its weaknesses. The crowd was wooed by its nose, and then let down by its palate. The Rousanne, a wine I'm quite familiar with, was not well accepted by those who expect whites to be pleasant quaffers, though I don't know if this introduction will convince them to try it again. This was my first time trying the Fiano di Avelino. Most liked it, whereas I felt it was somewhat oxidized. Checking Rogov's notes, I found that he had this in drink up mode in November of 2010.

The City Winery Reserve Syrah was the clear standout of this bunch, and to many it was the WOTN. I agree that it showed very well, and was a tour-de-force, showcasing bright red fruit with some firm tannins, but I did not sense complexity. However, a young wine like that would not show complexity at this early a stage. Surprisingly, almost everyone was put off by the Alma, ranking it a distant 4th. I then brought out an Hagafen Prix Reserve Block "L" 2001, that was not well received, with the complaint being that it is over the hill. Personally, I found the Hagafen to display dried flower flavors, typical of a matured wine. I think that most of the complaints were due to the lack of experience with aged wines.

Again, it seemed to me that the younger wines grabbed people's attention. I don't recall the ranking, so much as that the Leovill-Poyferre was ranked last. Those present were shocked when the cat was pulled from the bag. To me, it shows that aged wines don't stand out it settings in which they must scream for attention. Its subtlety didn't stand a chance to get noticed after drinking for two hours.

There were some late comers who were getting into the action, one of them brought along an Herzog Napa Reserve Cab 2004. I popped into a brown bag, and put a 2010 Cab from City Winery made from grapes source from Batinelli Vineyards into another bag. I pulled a third wine from my wine storage, an Hagafen Prix Cab MJT 2004. Those present ranked them as follows:

Well the sparklers will get a reaction fro many here. Personally, I think the 2007 BdB is first, than the Drappier, than the other two. The whites I have no comment on, other than the fact that Goose Bay whites are DOA after two years AT BEST, drink this up a long time ago. I hope I get to taste the Syrah from City Winery soon, the Shiloh, Gilgal, and/or Prix are all boring or dead to me. The 2010 Alma is a shocker for sure, will taste that one again soon. A couple of months ago it was fine - maybe a bad bottle or storage - or bad luck.

The Bordeaux blends - WOW! I agree on the last two for sure, thought they were boring to DOA. The 2002 of the Valandruad is also flat - so not sure about the life expectancy of these wines.

Of the Cabs, I am surprised to see MJT in second place - the Batinelli Cab most be a beast - and so it showed better at the end. I agree with wine tastings being a poor way to overall taste wines - and that sitting with them one-on-one is a better way, but I only have so many weekends...

The order listed is the order in which they were ranked by most participants including myself. These sparklers fell into two buckets with quite a gulf between them, with the Drappier and Hagafen in one and the Yarden and the Adar in the other. The first pair were on the elegant side, whereas the latter pair were on the coarse side.

This was an eye opener for many of the participants, some of which vehemently declared themselves as strictly drinkers of red wine, so much so that some refused to participate. Again, I'm listing them in the order in which they were ranked, though this time the ranking wasn't firm, as many of these varietals were new to the people tasting them, and they were discovering them for the first time. I will add that the Viognier turned out to be a dud, poorly reflecting the variety. The Ruhlmann on the other hand, was a good choice to represent Gewurztraminer, not because it was that good, but because it is varietally correct, in that it showcases the grape's potential as well as its weaknesses. The crowd was wooed by its nose, and then let down by its palate. The Rousanne, a wine I'm quite familiar with, was not well accepted by those who expect whites to be pleasant quaffers, though I don't know if this introduction will convince them to try it again. This was my first time trying the Fiano di Avelino. Most liked it, whereas I felt it was somewhat oxidized. Checking Rogov's notes, I found that he had this in drink up mode in November of 2010.

Pinchas,

Thank you for this report. This is the beauty of a blind tasting.

On the Bordeaux Blends panel, I believe you may have had some adverse vintage issues. If I recall correctly, 2006 Negev vintage was quite good whereas the 2001 Bordeaux vintage was quite mediocre.

One question - I haven't seen much of the Feudi wines stateside (the kosher ones) - can you tell me where you purchased them?